Hockey player ordered to pay $34,000 to young man he punched unconscious
A hockey player has been ordered to pay more than $34,000 to a young man he punched unconscious at a party in Tsawwassen last summer.
Ryan Olsen, who was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets hockey team but now plays for the ECHL Colorado Eagles, was at a birthday party on July 16, 2017 when he punched college student Liam Griffin, 19, leaving him unconscious, according to provincial court documents.
The documents say that when Griffin left the party around midnight, he and his friend saw Olsen pushing a young woman, and that she was saying “no” and he was yelling “yes.”
When Griffin and his friend tried to get Olsen to stop pushing, the 23-year-old Olsen said, “I am a professional hockey player. I make more money than you ever will. Let me do my thing,” according to the documents.
The court says Olsen then punched Griffin, and his head struck the concrete on the ground.
Griffin was taken to Delta Hospital by ambulance. He regained consciousness the following day and was discharged from hospital.
Testimony from several physicians showed that as a result of the assault, Griffin suffered a concussion, a contusion and frontal lobe injury to his right forehead requiring stitches, a cut to his left cheek requiring stitches, scrapes to his elbow and back, as well as injury to his neck, back and leg. The injuries left him unable to work for the rest of the summer.
No criminal charges were laid. However, Griffin filed a notice of claim for assault causing bodily harm. Olsen filed a response claiming self-defence.
When Griffin sent another claim raising the amount to $35,000, Olsen agreed to a settlement conference. Olsen did not attend and granted Griffin a default judgment at a trial March 12.
According to the documents, in August 2017, Griffin came across Olsen in downtown Vancouver, and Olsen said, “I’ll do it again. Go ahead and take my money — I have loads of it.”
Provincial Court Judge Thomas Gove said Griffin, a recreational hockey player, can no longer play contact sports because of the pain, and sunlight causes pressure in his head.
In ordering the damages, he took into account Griffin’s pain and suffering, and the fact that he will need plastic surgery in the future.
Gove ordered Olsen pay Griffin $34,406 plus court costs.
According to capfriendly.com, a website that documents NHL salaries, Olsen earned $60,000 a season during a three-year stint (2014-17) in the American Hockey League with both the St. John’s IceCaps and Manitoba Moose.
In 2013, he earned a $75,000 signing bonus after agreeing to a three-year, $2.2 million entry level contact with the Jets. However, he never cashed in on the NHL money because he never earned promotion with the Jets.